The author recording a group
of Bolivian street musicians in Recoleta, Buenos
Aires.

Visiting
South America in 1987 will always remain a highlight
of my life, both professionally and otherwise. It all
began when my brother-in-law John Redmond, then attached
to the Irish embassy in Buenos Aires, suggested the
idea that as a radio producer/presenter with RTÉ (the
Irish national broadcasting station) I might consider
making a documentary series on the Argentine community
of Irish descent. My response was one of enthusiastic
interest, but tempered by caution as it was a time when
there were many cutbacks in radio budgets, and projects
involving travel abroad were subject to close scrutiny
at the highest administrative level. Nonetheless I went
ahead with preparatory planning and duly submitted a
proposal. To my delight, indeed almost amazement, the
submission was approved. Thereafter on May 25 (a coincidental
but nevertheless appropriate date) I found myself -
microphone in hand - in the centre of Buenos Aires.

My assignment, in terms of time, was short but intensive.
Often the working day began at 6am and continued well
after midnight. I was privileged to meet a wide range
of people and cover an extensive amount of territory.
It was an odyssey of contrast. The day after conducting
an interview in the Congress building, I might find
myself talking to farming folk living in comfortably
modest circumstances in the "camp". The next
location could well be an estancia equal in dimension
to half an Irish county!

I was more than fortunate in the erudition of my informants:
scholars such as Fr. Federico Richards, the eminent
genealogist Eduardo Coghlan, or the historian Hilda
Sabato. Also icons of cultural life such as Maria Elena
Walsh and Oscar Barney Finn and most significantly the
many individuals who would not have been insulted to
be described as "ordinary people" - the extraordinary
testimony of Mrs. Clancy of San Antonio de Areco, then
almost 100 years old, or the elderly gentleman who showed
me his lovingly assembled scrapbook of Irish memorabilia,
a beautifully presented souvenir of a country to which
he had never been!

What were my impressions of the Irish Argentines? I
would hesitate to indulge in generalisation, however
I suspected that many fostered an ideal image of an
Ireland which is no longer a reality and would have
been perplexed by the actuality of the modern Ireland
soon to be engulfed by the ethos of the so-called Celtic
Tiger. As a broadcaster who had previously worked in
the sphere of traditional music I was a little disappointed
not to find some evidence of the survival of Irish grass-roots
musical traditions as opposed to sentimental songs of
the "drawing-room" provenance. But that was
a quibble. My abiding memory is of a people endowed
with a deep sense of community allied to an almost devotional
dedication to generous hospitality. I feel sad that
since my visit so many of those I recorded have died,
and yet there is satisfaction that perhaps my series
has perpetuated their memories if only in a small way.

After the eight programmes were transmitted on RTÉ under
the title Neath the Southern Cross, I was pleased
with audience reaction, both Irish and Argentine. One
happy spin-off was the foundation of the Irish-Argentine
Society of Dublin largely due to the energetic vision
of its president, Mary B. Murphy. The association has
given rise to many a convivial gathering and, importantly,
was instrumental in initiating research by a founder
member, the historian Dr. John De Courcy Ireland, culminating
in the publication of his acclaimed biography of William
Brown The Admiral from Mayo.

Fr. Bertie Flanagan (left),
parish priest of San Antonio de Areco, and the
Kelly family in estancia San Patricio

In
1971-1992, Bill Meek was the Traditional Music
correspondent of The Irish Times, and
he also contributed articles to Ireland of
the Welcomes, History Ireland, and
The Tribune. In audio, his 'Traditional
and Original Songs of Ireland' were distributed
by Folk Legacy Records (Vermont, 1965).